Gallup Daily: Obama Leads 47% to 42%

Five-point lead is slightly above par for Obama

Today's result, based on Aug. 9-11 interviewing, is identical to where the race stood in Monday's report. It represents a slightly stronger performance for Obama than the average 3-point lead he has held since early June, though, in terms of being a meaningful change, it will be important to see whether Obama can sustain a 5-point or better lead in the coming days.

Aside from the bounce in support Obama received around the time of his recent overseas trip to Europe and the Middle East, the last time he led McCain by at least five points for two or more consecutive days was at the start of July. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.) -- Lydia Saad

Survey Methods

For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.

The general-election results are based on combined data from Aug. 9-11, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,656 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

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Hillary Clinton's margin over Donald Trump in the national popular vote will be close to two percentage points, making the 3.3-point Clinton margin in the pre-election national poll average remarkably accurate.

Slightly more Americans agree (52%) than disagree (45%) that the federal government is responsible for making sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. This balance of views is similar to last year.

Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $98 in November, up from $93 in October. The latest figure is the highest average recorded for the month of November since Gallup began tracking consumer spending in 2008.